Arc-welding process and apparatus



April 27, 1954 A. R. MEYER ET AL 5 9 ARC-WELDING PROCESS AND APPARATUS Filed May 29, 1953 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 7, 1954 A. R. MEYER ET AL ARC-WELDING PROCESS AND APPARATUS 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 29, 1953 April 27, 1954 A. R. MEYER ET AL 5 9 ARC-WELDING PROCESS AND APPARATUS Filed May 29, 1953 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 April 27, 1954 A. R. MEYER ET AL 5 9 ARC-WELDING PROCESS AND APPARATUS Filed May 29, 1953 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 April 27, 1954 2,677,036

A. R. MEYER ET AL ARC-WELDING PROCESS AND APPARATUS Filed May 29, 1955 8 Shets-Sheet 5 &

April 27, 1954 A. R. MEYER ET AL ARC-WELDING PROCESS AND APPARATUS 8 Sheets-Sheet '6 Filed May 29, 1953 April 7, 1954 A. R. MEYER ET AL ARC-WELDING PROCESS AND APPARATUS 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed May 29, 1953 pril 27, 1954 A. R. MEYER ET AL 5 9 ARC-WELDING PROCESS AND APPARATUS Filed May 29, 1953 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Patented Apr. 27, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2;77,oe AC'-WL`)'ING 'CESS AND A'AATI Amel R Me yer, Griffith, Indg, and o'arence Ver'- Be'ek, Lansing, III., assignors to Graver 'rank &i Mfg. 004, Inc.-, East Chicago, Idg a corpration of Delaware A'iet'i May 29, 1953, serial Ne. 358.314'

18 Clairns. l

This invention relates to submerg'ed are weld ing of elongated seams in work piece surfaces which are oriented in other than the flat downhand welding position. For instance the' work piece surface may lie in a vertical plane, in an inclined plane or in a flat plane facing downward.

such welding involve's a serious difculty which does not occur in the so called fiat dowrihancl position. The molten and liquid materials; also called flux and metal melt, tend to run down or drip down under the influence of gravity, from any work piece surfaces which are not fiat and facing upwardly. For this` reason, flat and upwardly facing work piece surfaces for flat downhand welding are practically always utilized in shop welding practice; This however' is` impossible in the majority of the field welcling operations and in certain special shop weldihg operations.

Attempts were made in the past to solve this problem. They fall broadly into two class'es: attempts to eliminate or counteract the tendency toward gravitational downward flow, for instance by premature chilling of the weld (which is gen erally objectionable because of resulting defects such as slag and gas entrapm'ent) and attempts to' support the melt against its tendenc'y toward downward flow, by dam or envelope devices traveling relative to the work piece. A melt en Velope method is discloseol in a patent applic'ation filed by the senior one of the present joint inventors on May 11, 1953, under Serial Ne. 354,ll9, now Patent No. 2,673,916.

The present invention is an improvement upon the melt envelope method of said earlier application. It provides Simpler and more consistent deposition of a sound and properly proportioned seam, in other' than the flat down'hafcl It achieves this improvement by a frlethl which' we call a "compressed arc method."

According to this method the melt, form& by a concentrated, submergeo arc, is compres'sed and squeezed to displace the bulk' of th fli' fn'lt an upward flow but to keep the metallic m'e'lt place and to support it b'y the ompresed, squeezed, upwardly fio'win'g flux melt. To" coni press the melt we use the resiliently' empresibl'; refractory belt arrangement of the 'arlie appli cation, together 'With a hVl nu:: melt passage' or vent;

certain combinations" of carrier heltsanci guide' or prssure shoes with said hveopebe' "nd flux' 'venting means have been round pref' able These and ender` det *ils' of th'lnve`tih, as wen' as the results and' ad willbeome learer upon the particular description of pr fri'e'd embodime't of apparatus and operation hereunder. such a description follows with reference to the drawing' appnded hereto wherein:

Figures 1 and 2 are front and side views, respectively, of apparatus in acc'ordan'ce herewith.

Figure 3 is a side viewof said apparatiis in a section taken along line's3--3 in Figur'e 1.

Figura 4 is an enlarged dtail from Figure 3.

Figures 5- to are views taken along the respective lines in Figur 4.

Figure 11 shows a sli ght modification of Figur'e 10. i

Figui'e l is a perspctve view of the device of Figure's 4 to 10.

Figure 13 is a section taken aog lines (3--13 in Figure 2.

Figur'e 14 shows a 's'lig'ht modification of Figure 13.

Figura 15 is a section taken along lins 15-15 in Figura 2.

Figur'es 16 and 17 are further modifications of Figures 14 and 15 respetivly.

Figur 18' is a pers 'ec't'ive ragmentary View of the resiliently comprssibl reraetory belt, also shown in Figure's' 2; 14 and 15 Figure 19 is a View g''nerall'y' similar to Figure 18` but showing the" endlss carrier belt for the p resiliently compressible envelope belt.

Figure 20 is' a gratly enlarged detail from Figure 4.- e

The work piece surface is` provided by a pair of shell 'plates S dispos'ed in some position other than that w'uldpermit flat downhand welding; as shown, in the vertical position.` A vertical seam V is to he welded. For this 'purpose the new welding tool T is` inahually" or 'automatically proplld along' the' seem V, using suitable guide rails D' and other auxiliary devices', known to the art, if such he required;` so as to insur the production of a straight and proper weld bead. y Y y The tool T comprises a pair of flat vertical side plates l`0 and H, spaced from one another and interconnected by' rigid block means show'n at 12, which may be integral with a middle' portion of the first plate and attached' to the other plate ll as by screw means 13 or the like. The rigid' name icrmed by these parts lU, H an 12 has a pair of tru'inions !4 laterally extenling thefroih i 'n a d'retn parane or thgt to the shell plates S. Th tool T ci te niaiiipilat'd au'y or by' suitable meehamca equipment (not shown), so as to move the tool in a fixed direction (a vertical direction A as illustrated) while pressing it against the shell plates S (in a gen erally horizontal direction B as llustrated). The exact manner of applying pressure is important for the present invention, and basic details of this procedure will now be described.

When pressed against the shell plate in direction B, the tool T bears against the plates S in two superposed zones: (1) with a, pair of rubber tired rollers |5 pivoted to the tool side plates I 0 and H by a shaft !6 and disposed laterally outward thereof, on a line perpendicular to the weld seam V, and (2) along the face of a welding, guiding or pressure shoe device generally identied by the numeral l'l, above the rollers !5. This shoe l'l is pivoted to and disposed between the side plates o and ll by a horizontal shaft I 8. Preferably the bottom portion of the shoe I? is biased toward the shell plate S by some suitable force, such as that exerted by a spring ie which may abut against the block !2. When so loaded the welding shoe is free to move in a manner to compensate for certain inevitable plate irregu larities along the welding seam, while maintain ing the required holding pressure on the underlying weld, through intermediary means to be described presently.

The shoe l' serves to guide a resiliently com pressible refractory belt 20 so that successive portions of the belt move into contact with the work piece surface at points located just below the welding are. A basic function and purpose of such operation is that the well known flux submerged are is adequately supported, the belt 2%? being contnuously applied as an envelope for the support of the melt produced by the are. Additionally the belt 29 in the present method and apparatus serves to compress successivo lower, outer parts of the weld melt so as to displace molten fiux upwardly and laterally therefrom; the shoe I1 being so formed and equipped as to permit the dsplacement of such molten ux melt away from the welding zone through a fiux vent arrangement ZI. The metallic melt is not disturbed, and a thin, uniform envelope of fused flux is kept in position on the outside thereof, with another thin, interspersed film or layer of relatively cold, unfused fiux interposed between the slag and the belt.

The interposed layer of cold flux has an important function as a heat insulator, so long as available materials for belt 28 are highly conpressible but only moderately heat resistant. The belt must be protected from the intense heat of the welding zone. Details in this respect have been disclosed in said earlier application.

For present purposes it is usually desi'able to form the belt 20 from co-cxtensive glass wool layers 2D| and 202, separated by and preferably bonded to a transverse layer of heat-reflecting aluminum foil 263, as shown n Figures 14 and 15.

a weld bead in a deep and narrow groove, to shape the belt 20 in approximate conformity with the desired inserton of the belt front into the groove.

it will generally be narrower thansaidmain bela Of course the beltsza andzfl i can also be formed as` a more or less integral strip, but' frequently it is preferable to feed 'them to the welding zone as independent strips, of course keeping them symmetrically aligned with one another.

resiliently compressible refractory belt 20 must be guided over the shoe l'l in a particular manner to be described hereinafter, and must also be kept in truly and accurately stationary position relative to the shell plates S to be welded together,

- while the tool T traverses upwardly. This requirement involves movement between the belt 28 and the shoe 11. For reasons to be stated,

Contacting zones, that is: the sold metal of the plates-the liquid metal of the welding zone-the i smooth, downwardly extending, forwardly con- 2 5 is motorized or actuated at the proper speed, for instance by means of a chain 30 intercon necting sprockets 3! and 32 which are fast respectively on the shafts 16 and 2l'. In order to insure firm engagement between the drive roller 25 and the endless carrier belts 22, a cylindrical pressure roller 33 is provided between the flanges of the drive roller. The pressure roller is suitably supported by a link or fork structure M, pivoted to the plates n and l I at 35. In order to keep the carrier belt 22 taut, the return roller 25 may be mounted in a cradle or holder 36 which is biased outwardly relative to the carrier belt 22, 'as bya spring 31 which may abut against the outside of the block 12.

It will thus be seen that the outer surfaces of the carrier and envelope belts 22 and 20 can be kept substantially fiat while the belts run over 'mainly upon details of heat input as explained in said earlier application.

It is important for present purposes that the outward concavity or trough 205 in the compressible belt should be formecl at an elevation as close to the arc X as possible, regardless what the exact profile or curvature 'of the trough may be in horizontal section. Proximity between the arc and the zone of complete formation of the trough 205 in the belt 20 is desirable for proper melt compression, as will be explained more fully hereinafter. At this point it may be noted that the need for' such proximity is the reason why the transition from the effectively uncompressed form to the effectively compresed form of the belt 20, in the transition portion 24, should be rapid and somewhat abrupt. A fiat' top surface 240 of this transition portion 24 should substantially intersect-except for some slight rounding off of the intersecting edge 241 for obvious mechanical reasons-with a forwardly concave, vertical front surface 242 of the same transition portion; the latter surface 242 merging into the vertical groove 25 as clearly shown in Figures 4, 8 and 9.

The side edges of the forwardly concave front surface 242 are substantially tangent to the shell S when viewed in a vertical plane normal to the shell surface; the point of tangency being reache'd in an area 243 slightly below the top of the table portion 23. Above this area 243 of tangent approach, said side edges may be suitably curved as shown at 244; below they are straight and substantially' vertical as shown at 245. The pivot a for the shoe !1 is disposed at an elevation adjacent the area 243 of tangent approach, as best shown in Figure 4. In this' manner adequate pressure is constant-.ly maintained where it is most desired, while the lower front part 245 of the shoe can adapt itself to irregularities in the' work piece surface S.

A pair of walls 33 and 39 are provided upon and rigid with the table portion 23 of the tool T, upstarding therefr'om and defining a belt passage 40 between these walls; this passage being substantially as wide as the belt 20. A flux inlet ftting 4I in the form of a downwardly extending chute is Secured to and held between the walls 38 and 39 above the shoe transition portion 2'4. The back wall 42 of this ftting has a lower edge 43, spaced above the top 24l of the transition portion 24, so as to allow passage of the belt 20 With slight friction, thereby preventing backward loss of lux. The front wall 44 of the fiux fitting 4l preferably has a lower edge 45 spaced slightly above the lower edge -43 of the rear wall 42. This arrangement allows contact of a deep supply of fiux F with the shell plates S as is known to be desirable for good submerged are welding.

The nozzle 46 for' the electrode E has a front part 41 extending through a snug fitting opening' 48 in the flux fitting back wall 42; suitable electric insulation being provided if the entire fittin-g 4I is made from eleotrically conductive material. It may be noted at this point that the fiux fitting' as well as the shoe` can be made for instance from metal, molded carbon, oeramics or' the like.

suitable flux F for submerged arc welding, hereinafter sometimes called granular flux, is supplied from a, suitabl source (not shown) by a hose 49- to the flux inlet 41. suitable electrode wire, preferably of small diameter as explained in said earlier application, is supplied to the nozzie 46 by a- -guide member conyentional welding 50, oonnectlng' with a (notshown).

For the removal of' melt portions forned by the arc, the flux vents 2i are provided. They eflectively form operings` in the sides of the tool T, which sides are otherwise closed. Each vent as shown forms a four sided window, one side of which is formed by the upper front surface 51 of the envelope and compressor 'belt 23. said upper front surface, as mentioned, is somewhat abruptly curved, following the curvatu're of the transition edge 24! in the Shoe ll. Thus each vent or window 2!` has a very short, horizontal bottom edge 52', intersecting the upper front sur= face or transition portion S'i of the belt 20 slightly above the area 243 of tangent approach between th belt and the shell. Each vent has a somewhat longer, horizontal top edge' 53, shown as spaced very slightly above the tip of the electrode E; in some cases this top edge' may even be spaced below said tip. Thefourth and last side 54 of the window opening or venit 2| is open to the front, except for the adj'acent surface of the shell plates S In the embodim-ent as shown, portions of the side walls 38 and 39 are alsocut off adjacent the vent area, in order to facilitate access to and in spection of the horizontal top portion of the belt 20 and other ad 'acent parts of the instrument.

The horizontal sides 52 and 53 of each vent opening Zi are shown as being vertically adjustable, by incorporating said sides in removable plate or gate members 55 and 56- at the bottom and 5?, 58 at the top; one pair of gates such as 55, l being provided` at each side of the tool. The top gates 51', 58 are shown as having squareedged lower ends, while the bottom gates 55, 56

preierably have sharp'knife edges acing upward and contacting the belt 26 in the manner of small, lateral doctor blades. All four gates are individually Secured tothe tool T in a manner allowing vertical adjustmerit. For this purpose each side of the shoe l 'l and flux chute 41 may have two screw holes 59 formed therein; and each gate 55 to 58 may have two vertically elongated slots el), so that the gate' can be attached to and removed from the tool, with suitable Vertical adjustment, by screws' 61.

operation In order to start operation, one end of the belt 20 is pulled through the horizontal channel iti and vertical groove 25, over and above the carrier belt 22. The tool T is pressed to the shell in direction B and raised in direction A.

This causes rotation of the rubber tired rollers !5 and shaft s, so' that the sprocket and chain mechanism 33, 31, 32 rotates the shaft 21 and drive roller 26, which engages' the carrier belt 22 With the help of the' pressure roller 33, thereby keeping the vertical front of the carrier belt, n the vertical channel 25, temporarily stationary relative to the shell plates S. This results* also in idling rotation of the return roller 28 and.

continuous, gradual pick-up of new portions oi' the resiliently compressible belt 20.

The latter belt accordingly moves horizontally over the table 23 toward the shell S, under' the electrode nozzle 43,` while electrode wire E and welding current are red through that nozzle to the welding zone and a deep' bed of flux F submerges the resulting arc X? This arc melts successive portions of the electrode tip and of the shell plates S, produ'ol-ng a columnof liquid metal melt form the weld bead Z; The-belt 20" supports 'the The :nelt then gradually 'congeals to melt column Y substantialy in the manner known from said earlier application.

The mound of flux F subme'gng the are X has a front surface Contacting the shell plates S, a bottom surface Contacting the top or the belt 20, and a pair of side surfaces which are largely supported by upper gates 51, 58 but unsupported n the areas of the vent openings Zi. As a result able adjustnent of the upper gates 51, 58.

As a result of the upward traversing shoe ll along the plates S there is relative motion of the shell s downwardly along the front surface of the fiux F in the direction ccntinuously melts por- Well molten metal and is then ej ected therefrom in known manner. Other parts of the molten fiux remain separate. All or most of the molten flux is ultimately accumulated into a coherent fluid mass, the total Volume of which is considerably less than that of the original the gaseous constituents, i any, being allowed to escape through the granuar Thus an appreciable shrinkage re- Substantially the entire weight of the fiux mov- X as a flow G reappears below ero chanber or fiux zone FH.

The resulting appearance of !i and vent 2I, in proper operation, is that of a "cinder -notch orl slag vent in a minature furnace, outwardly the traveling shoe supported against downward flow, by the fordischarging a glowing mixr thinner electrode that where the slag SE In order to form a proper, smooth and sound weld bead Z it is further necessary to keep in mind the cooling effect applied to the welding zone by the granular flux F entering into the slag envelope SE, as explained in said earlier application. In fact this cooling eflect is particularly pronounced in the present method, because as soon as the hot flux melt has been formed, it from, not only shifted within,

in order to prevent slag and gas entrapment. Weldng heat is therefore provided in a particular, concentrated manner, that is, with a much and much higher current density and preferably a somewhat slower traversing speed than is normal (the normal routines, in

well known submerged arc welding process in flat downhand position).

ux, interspersed with the exposed part of the lag. Even a thin slag envelope SE shields the hot congealing metal from the ambient atmosphere. The fiux layer IL shields the sensitive belt 20 from the hot welding zone. The yieldable comp'essible belt 29 compresses, squeezes and suppo'ts the outwardly successive layers Y, SE and IL, while displacing the excess flux melt and thereby removing a source of irregularity in the weld bead.

Because of the constant, the resilient belt pressure, of the liquid metal Y takes place in normal operation. However, caution is required in this respect, mainly since the complete freezing of the metal is likely to occur only at an elevation below gradual application of no undue deforrnation stance when changing from the use of an electrode diameter of to one of this results in a modified arrangcment of the metallic melt Y, relative to the belt 20; and in order to compen'sate for such new arrangement, the resilient compression applied by the belt may have to be readjusted. (For instance in the case mentioned it' may be highly desirable to change from a type 315 Aircore belt, as described in said earlier application, to a type 316 belt.)

Likewise the ux melt and flux aocumulation allowed or enforced, in the flux zone FH, may have to be readjuste For instance, when depositing a bead near the root of a deep weld groove, where melt fiows are restricted by closely adjacent surfaces of base metal, it is clesirable to keep the knife edges 52 of the bottom gates 55, 56 relatively low; When depositing a bead nearer the work piece surface, under' the: same conditions in other respects, it is desirable to raise these knif'e edges. The range of required vertical adjustments is small; tor instance it: may reach only from near the o'clock' to; near the 2 o'clock position on the curved belt portion` 51; however, the efiects are very distinct.

The: conditions described, prevailing within the arc chamber, are illustrated in Figure 20 in diagrammati-c scanner,` and with the understanding that a number of details are' necessarily hypothetical, since the conditions actually prevailing in this chamber are invisible. For this reason we do not wish to be. hound by the' merelytheoretical parts of the explanation and illustration furnished herein, which are presented only as an aid for better understanding of the apparatus and physical procedure as described.

As indioated in said earlier application, there is a definite advantage in the interception of a thin flux layer and thin slag envelope SE, because any increased thickness of such: layers unavoidably causes increased variations oi holding power theren and consequent irregularity of the weld bead Z. This will be understood more fully upon a mechanical analysis of the metallic melt Y. This melt in substanca forms a column of liquid of downwardly decreasing mobility or fluidity; which column. may have considerable height. It is firmly supported at the bottom by the congealed bead Z and in front by the base metal of the' plate S, while being supported on the exposed side only by the compressible belt 20 and interposed layers IL, SE'. In the arrangenent of these latter materials, maintained as to depth, mass, specific Weight, viscosity, direction of flow and other factors, if upper parts of the metallic melt column Y shall not occasionally sag into more or less yieldable, fluid contents of the zone FH, which would result in the formation of an irregular and objectonable bead Z. The melt column Y is more or less fluid, at any one location, for a number of seconds; and some local sagging would start in the absence of uniform supporting'means and is, in the absence ofthe upwardly-outwardly compressed melt displalcement flow D, suitably adjusted by selection'of a proper belt 2!) and gate adjust-,ment '52.

A practical advantage resides that the gatcs 55 and 58 are removable and replaceable. There' is: a tendeney in certain phases of the operationt 'intercept ireezing or frozen slag on the solid surfaces over which this material fiows. whenever this happens the condition can be remedied by removing, cleaning and 'eattaching the gates.

The outward disposal of the fiux and melt mixture may sometimesgbe further facilitated if the top surface 51 of the' belt 20, in the transition zone 24, slopes outward rather than inward. The configuration of the channel 25, Wherein the belts 26 and 22 are shaped to show outward concavity, counteracts this arrangement. Therefore it may be desirable to form the table portion 23 and/or the upper part 24ll-`oi` the transition portion %i with outward-downward slope, as shown at 23A in Figure ll.

The operation as described can be performed from one side of the shell plate S, or from both sides simultaneously. In the latter event the two shoes l'l traversing the opposite sides of the plate may be disposed directly opposite one another or substantially so, whereby more or less unitary metal melt zones Y are formed in acalso in the fact reasonable uniformity must be procedures, that 'surface oriented in other than the 10 cordame with the. atent of Peters, 2529312. However a shoe: IT on one side may also be more or less in'leadin position ahead of a shoe l'l on the other side. Differences. in this respect are matters of degree and weldng routineand are best determined by actual test.

Likewise, the routine: can be changed in many other respects. For instance different types of filler vvres or metallic electrodes or even carbon electrodes can be used. Horizontal seams in vertical plates or overhead flat seams in horizontal plates can he weld-ed, with no substantial alteration of the method and equipment' disclosed. Many other changes can be applied.

We claim:

1. In a welding process for use on a work piece fiat downhand the steps of traversing a Welding area on the surface With a fiux-submerged arc; compressing a portion of the melt formed by the arc to displace molten fiux therefrorn while keeping the molten metal substantially undisturbed; and removing the dispiaced molten ux from the welding area.

2'. In a weldng process for use on a laterally facing work piece surface, the steps of upwardly traversing the surface with a flux-submerged are; compressing upwardly successivo portions of the meli; column formed by the arc and thereby upwardly and laterally displacg molten flux from said meit column, while substantially keeping the molten metal in position in said melt column.

3. In a process for welding an elongated seam in a laterally facng work piece surface, the steps of traversing the seam With a fiux-submerged are; compressing successivo portions of the melt iormed by the arc so as to support the inolten metal against downward, gravitational escape, and to upwardly displace molten fiux along the molten metal; and removing the displaced molten ux from the seam.

i. A Weldin process as described in claim 3 wherein an elongated, fiexible strip is used for said compressing operation, the strip being progress'vely unrclled against the seam during said traversing operation.

5. A welding process as described in claim 4 Wherein the fiexible strip is yieldably compressible and partly compressed against the melt.

6. In a process for welding an elongated seam in a Work piece surface oriented in other than the fiat downhand position, the steps of traversing the seam with a concentrated arc submerged in a flux bed; and pressing successive portions of a highly compressible, at least moderately heat-resistant strip against the melt formed by the arc, so as to support the molten metal, displace molten flux from such melt, and replace such iux by' cold ux from the fiux bed.

7. A process as described in claim 6* Wherein the strip is resiliently compressible and is partly compressed while pressing it against the molten metal.

8. A. process as described in claim '7 Wherein the resiliently compressible strip has a highly compressible layer in contact with the melt and a less compressible, front contour shaping layer remote from the melt.

9. Welding apparatus for use on a Work piece surface oriented in other than the fiat downhand position, comprising means for traversing the surface with'a ux ,submerged arc to form a body of melt of iolten flux and metal; and welding shoe means to press successivo poi-tiene T of the melt so of said opening.

11. Apparatus as described in claim 10 wherein the gate has a, sharp knife edge, forming a lower side of said opening.

12. Apparatus as described in claim 9 wherein the welding shoe means is a rigid member extending along the work piece surface in the travel-sing direction and which comprises a com-` pressible belt, interposed between the shoe means and the work piece surface.

13. Apparatus as described in claim 12 where-` in the rigid shoe means work piece surface.

15. Apparatus as described in claim 12 Wherein the rigid shoe means is supported for pivotal motion about an axis extending along the work piece surface and across the direction of traverse.

16. Apparatus as described in claim 15 wherein the rigid shoe means is biased toward the of the shoe means trailing in the direction of traverse is additionally biased toward the work piece surface.

17. Submerged arc described in claim 17 where- References cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,294,439 Bagley Sept. 1,'1942 2,331,937 Schreiner Oct. 19, 1943 2,362,505 Smith Nov. 14, 1944 2,395,723 e Feb. 26, '1946 Chmielewski x i m... 

